What is the difference between multiple and repeat victimisation?

The NZCASS can show us whether people experience crime multiple times and how much crime is experienced by how many people.

When discussing whether people have experienced crime multiple times or just once (in a given period), we use two terms: ‘multiple victimisation’ and ‘repeat victimisation’. Although these terms seem similar, they refer to slightly different things:

Multiple victimisation is when someone has been the victim of crime more than once regardless of the type of offence, for example, someone might have been assaulted, had their car stolen and had their house burgled all in the same year.

Repeat victimisation is when someone has been the victim of the same offence more than once, for example, two or more burglaries.

How much crime is experienced by how many people?

As with previous years, a small percentage of people experienced a large percentage of all crimes collected in the NZCASS.

In 2013, 3% of adults experienced five or more offences or 53% of all crime.

A smaller percentage of adults are experiencing about the same percentage of crime, when compared to 2008 (where 6% of adults experienced 52% of all crime). While crime is falling overall, this shows that the distribution of victimisation is becoming more unequal over time.